


Overly Involved

by Glitter_Lisp



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Anxiety, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 23:28:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6304438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glitter_Lisp/pseuds/Glitter_Lisp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are just days when it doesn't seem safe to get out of bed. Or, on this particular day, out from under the bed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Overly Involved

“Hey, Reid? You in here?” Derek hears some shuffling and what might be a whispered curse from the bedroom. He was wondering where the kid had gotten off to; he hadn’t seen him in a while, but he hadn’t heard him leave, either. Of course, when he peeked into the bedroom an hour ago he hadn’t seen him, but who knows, maybe be was in the bathroom. 

“Reid?” There’s no response, and he frowns. “Spencer, you here?" 

Finally, there’s a sigh. "Yes, I’m here." 

His frown deepens as he tries to figure out where his partner’s voice is coming from. "Wait, are you-" 

"For the sake of my dignity,” Reid interrupts him, “let’s pretend that I’m not underneath the bed." 

"Okay, sure, I can do that.” Even as he speaks Derek is kneeling next to the bed and lifting up the edge of the covers so he can peek underneath it. Reid stares back at him, lying on his side with his glasses dropped on the carpet a few inches from his face. He’s got a pile of small pillows and one very fluffy blanket that Derek has never seen before, a box of Lil Debbie oatmeal creme pies, and a half a dozen books stacked along the wall beside him. But what really sticks out to Derek is how pale he is and the way his hands are just barely trembling as he closes the book he’s holding. 

“I’m having something of a rough day,” Reid says carefully. “And yes I know I can go to you, but sometimes I just need a very small and quiet space for me." 

"All right,” Derek says, because normally he hops on his bike when he needs to be in control, but he can sort of understand the logic here, if logic is overly involved in anxiety or hiding under the bed. “Is there anything I can do? Or would you like me to just go back to the living room?”

Reid hesitates, and Derek can guess what he’s going to say but he’s not going to push.

“Could you… could maybe stay? Maybe not, um, talking much, but just…. being around.”

“Sure thing, kid. Let me go get my laptop and I’ll bring it in here. All right?”

“Oh, and probably don’t sit on the bed,” Reid adds quickly. “The mattress sags.”

Derek smiles as he pushes himself to his feet. “All right, Reid.”

He sets himself up in the armchair across the room, earplugs in but no music playing so he can keep an ear out for Reid. Eventually he hears the younger man’s slow, careful breathing fade into soft snores. Two hours later, he wriggles out from under the bed, glasses crooked on his nose, hair a mess, and a long pink crease down one cheek from, Derek can only guess, falling asleep on one of his books.

Reid doesn’t say anything, but he does smile shyly at Derek and brush his lips over the top of his head in a silent thanks on his way out of the room.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted at glitter-lisp.tumblr.com


End file.
